ARTICLES ABOUT CHRISTMAS BY DATE - PAGE 5

"Awesome" was the overwhelming consensus of people who gathered in front of Angie and Bryan Bartlett's house in Ellicott City on a cold night this past week. With almost 20,000 lights flashing to the beat of 38 songs, the house and yard were jumping with images. "It's insane. I've never seen something so awesome," said Lillie Kane, 11, as she watched the show. Lillie's mom, Ladonna Kane, thought the Bartletts' holiday display must be a dream come true, or at least the passion of its creator.

The front door had barely cracked open and already the lilt of harmonizing voices could be heard from the sanctuary at Central Presbyterian Church in Towson. This was just choir practice - an important one to be sure, for the Christmas concert was only a week away - but the group sang without nerves beneath gold-bowed wreaths and evergreen boughs on an altar already decorated for the holidays. The singers paused in their rendition of "I Saw Three Ships," for handbell players to chime the melody.

"A Civil War Christmas," the extraordinary play with music by Pulitzer Prize-winning Paula Vogel at Center Stage, has broken the theater company's record for single ticket daily gross. That makes it one of the best-selling shows in the 50 years of Center Stage. The response has prompted a small extension of the play's run. An extra performance has been added -- 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22 (the show was to have closed after the matinee that day).

Carroll County government's annual lighting of the county Christmas tree won't be held Tuesday, Dec. 10, because of the weather. The Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will instead be held next Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 4:30 p.m. at the county office building, 225 N. Center St., Westminster. In addition, county government offices and all county senior centers are closed Tuesday because of the second snowstorm in three days.

Ladew Gardens in Monkton will celebrate Christmas in seasonal resplendence with its annual open house Dec. 13-15, as local floral designers and local garden clubs are invited to decorate the rooms of the circa 1747 Manor House, adorning the walls, tabletops and fireplace mantels in festive holiday splendor. In its 33rd year, Ladew's Christmas Open House, according to the event's organizers, has been called "one of Maryland's most memorable and decorative holiday events. " The Christmas Open House is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

I was not prepared for the sheer candlepower of Harbor East when I went in search of some early Christmas spirit this week. Moving along Albemarle Street, where the holiday lights burned hot and bright, I made some mental comparisons with the old Howard Street and its department stores. Hands down, Harbor East outperformed the staid department stores. The place had a nighttime energy - and the circle at President Street reminded me of a kind of Times Square bustle. The traffic was maddening but there was no getting away from the reality that this part of downtown Baltimore is an authentic December destination.

A few weeks ago, he was a lovestruck tom cat caterwauling in front of a Hampden shop, hoping for a taste of canned food and a glimpse of Mrs. Puff, the haughty shop window she-cat. Now, he is Cat Stevens, beloved pet of a Bolton Hill couple and wearer of Christmas sweaters . "He just wants to put his face in your face and just be cuddled," says Kylie Thompson, 24, of her new pet. Thompson and her boyfriend Jason Perrotti, 26,...

“Hello, I'm America's Jane Lynch,” Jane Lynch says as she snaps a heavy duty cleaning glove on her left hand to stick coal in the stockings of Cloris Leachman, Meryl Streep, Melissa McCarthy and Edie Falco. She explains to the viewers that Fox had taped a Christmas special in 2012 titled “Rough Trade Santa,” but it was entirely too inappropriate to air, so it sat in the vault. Until tonight. We'll never get to see the original episode. An episode which contained the answers as to why Blaine Anderson is obsessed with yule logs and why Will Schuester decided to abandon all of his Washington, D.C., dreams to come back to New Directions.

There should always be room for an old-fashioned burst of holiday entertainment, free of complicated thoughts or challenging philosophy, well stocked with song and dance. "Irving Berlin's White Christmas," now at the Hippodrome, fits the bill nicely. To be sure, it does place a few demands on audiences. For a start, you have to suspend all cynicism and stifle the urge to groan at obvious jokes and turns of plot. Not that there is much of a plot. And you have to be open to some second- or third-drawer Berlin ditties along the way. Once you accept those terms -- if I can do it, you can do it -- you might be surprised how remarkably easy it is to enjoy this snowflake-thin variation on the let's-put-on-a-show business that goes with vintage musical comedy territory.

'Tis the season when all attention turns toward Christmas - Santa Claus, trees, baking. Dozens of activities are scheduled throughout Harford County, and some of the biggest are back this year. The Town of Bel Air started things off with its parade Sunday. That first Sunday in December event will be followed by this weekend's festivities in Aberdeen, Havre de Grace and northern Harford County. In two weeks, the town of Perryville will usher in Christmas, lighting its own tree.